Sinful Innocence
by Alison York
Summary: Serena's step-father gambles her away to the handsome, mysterious, businessman Darien Shields. How will she survive life as a slave to him? Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1- Prologue

Ok, this is my first fanfiction, so please be kind, and rate/review!

Disclamer: As much as I love Sailor Moon, I don't own it!

**Prologue**

Cigarette smoke pooled around an old wooden table where five men lounged casually, maintaining slight conversation, drinking and betting away their money. Kenneth Tsukino cursed under his breath and begrudgingly pushed forward his last poker chips. The rest of the men at the table chuckled drunkenly at the growing pile of money, jewelry and other riches in front of them, all confident of their hands. Each man placed forward the money needed, until the circle came to its last man. He was very handsome, mused Kenneth, with incredibly dark shiny hair and a tall, muscular frame. A couple more shots of tequila and I'd be ready to kiss him! The drunk was overcome with childish giggles.

"C'mon, are you in or out?" The gentleman across from him asked impatiently, tapping his foot against the concrete floor. The dark-haired man's deep blue eyes twinkled mischievously and he leaned forward, the smoky light framing his face as he flashed a slight grin. A sizeable pile of chips was pushed into the centre of the table.

"I raise you one-hundred thousand dollars."

Kenneth's mouth fell open. The rest of the men stared at each other in shock and turned to the big better.

"What's the matter men? It's already too late to back out." He leaned back in his chair as the other players angrily counted out their chips and placed them in the pile. Only Kenneth hesitated. He turned towards the dark-haired man.

"I'm all out of chips. And there's no way I own anything of that kind of value."

"Then you're out." The handsome man turned away from him and back to his cards.

"W-wait! I might have one thing." Kenneth blurted out desperately. The man turned back towards him, intrigued.

"My daughter."

The dark-haired man raised an eyebrow, but didn't speak.

"She's a beautiful young thing, just seventeen. Her mother passed a few years ago, and I'm sick of having her around anyway…" The drunk drawled on.

"Plus, she's still a virgin. Could be some fun, y'know what I'm sayin'?" Kenneth leaned in and winked at the man, before bursting into laughter.

The dark-haired man's eyes glinted ever so slightly.

"Fine, I'll allow it."

"Is everyone done betting?" Another man spoke up. The group nodded wearily.

"Then please show your hands."

One by one, each man showed his cards. The first three had mediocre hands, but none were really enough to win. Kenneth Tsukino smacked down his straight flush, grinning, and surveyed the pile of riches that would soon be his. His view was distorted by the royal flush that was lazily placed on the table. His face dropped and anger boiled up inside him as he bashed his palms against the wood. The rest of the disgruntled men quickly stood and left the table, leaving Kenneth, the mysterious winner, and his pile of riches, still sitting by the table. Kenneth's anger had subsided and now his face was white, sitting nervously in front of this stranger.

"So," This man collected his riches and stood up. "About your daughter…"

Kenneth sighed in relief. At least this man would take his daughter instead of his life savings.

"Yes, I'll sign a contract or deliver her to you or whatever."

The man again raised an eyebrow, surprised at his willingness to sell away his child.

"What is her name?"

Kenneth looked up from his drink. "Hm?"

"What is your daughter's name?"

"Oh, her name is Serena." He reached up and shook the stranger's hand.

"It's been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr…?

The beautiful young man looked down at this bumbling drunk.

"Darien. Shields."

And with that he left the room, leaving Kenneth Tsukino teetering on his feet, feeling proud that despite what he had told his fellow gamblers, he had still had some chips yet unused.


	2. Chapter 2- Milkshakes and Meatballs

Hi everybody! Thank you for all the reviews and support so far! Everyone has been really nice regarding this story, and I'd like to thank you all for that. I was eager to post a new chapter so I'm sorry if there are some errors. I promise I'll go back and fix it later. But for now, enjoy!

Disclaimer: As much as I love Sailor Moon, I don't own it!

**Chapter 1- Milkshakes and Meatballs**

Serena's shoes hit the hot pavement as she ran down the deserted city street. Incredibly long golden locks flew everywhere, held up only in their signature 'meatball' hairstyle. She struggled to control her breathing as she raced towards Juuban High. Five minutes away and already ten minutes late, she remembered cheerily that at least this morning she hadn't had to deal with her father. Actually, he wasn't really her father. Her _step_father had come home late last night, later than usual, barely standing as he lurched through the front door and proceeded to fall unconscious onto his mattress. He was still asleep by the time she had left, and for that Serena was grateful. She hated the abuse he screamed at her every morning in his hung-over state. Only when he got truly drunk did she get to rush out the door in the morning, un-harmed by his cruel words.

Heart racing, she sidestepped the occasional passer-by and weaved through the on-coming traffic. Jogging eagerly across the road, she turned the corner to face her school and smiled proudly to herself. That could be my quickest time yet, she thought giddily as she skipped through the tall front gates. Truthfully, she hated school, but recently she had hated home more, and found comfort in being somewhere where she was not constantly confronted with her monster of a father. Here, she could at least be herself.

"Miss Haruna is gonna kill me," she muttered while energetically climbing the stairs to her first classroom. Reaching the top floor, she turned into the deserted hallway and quietly walked towards the furthest doorway. Taking in a deep breath, she slipped into the class late, as she did everyday, trying to be a silent as possible. Unfortunately, this tactic was yet to work.

"MS. TSUKINO!"

Serena cringed at the screeching noise her name made from her teacher's mouth. Inching her way towards a seat in the third row, she mumbled vague excuses and apologies, and slid into a window seat as Ms. Haruna scolded her with particular aggression. Once she had cooled off and resumed teaching the class, Serena finally got a chance to look around the room. Up in the front row, Amy's blue locks shone brightly, whipping around her pretty face as she turned to smile sympathetically at Serena. She smiled back wearily and rested her head on the desk, large blue eyes tilted towards the window. Outside, leaves rustled and sunlight streaked through treetops while the wind whipped through the quiet nearby streets. Serena's mind began to drift back to more savoury thoughts. She wondered bitterly what mood her father would be in when she returned home. After particularly drunken nights, he usually greeted her in an either angry, tired or falsely remorseful fashion. Judging from his late morning start, she could only hope that today he would just be tired. Deep in thought, she barely noticed the outstretched tan hand waving urgently in her line of vision.

"Don't fall asleep on me now, Serena!"

Serena blinked, taking a moment to remember where she was, and looked across from her to a tall, grinning brunette. Smiling, she sat up.

"Lita! I can't believe I didn't see you there!"

Lita shrugged. "You seemed pretty deep in thought, I figured I'd just let you continue." Her eyes gleamed mischievously. "Were you day-dreaming about a boy?"

Serena smiled weakly and bit her lip to keep from saying anything. She never really talked about Kenneth, but her friends knew enough to greatly dislike him and would jump at the chance to fiercely protect her. Often it was just better to keep these problems to herself.

Lita had already moved onto other things, though. Leaning across her desk, she smiled excitedly at Serena.

"You're still coming to the arcade after school with me and Amy, right? Raye and Mina will be there!"

Serena looked over at Lita and giggled.

"When have I ever missed a chance to go to the arcade? Of course I'm coming!"

Satisfied with her answer, Lita fell back into her chair and continued to listen to the teacher. Serena rested her chin against her palm and continued to gaze out the window, wondering about what future awaited her. For some reason the thought unsettled her. Leaning back in her chair, she began to contemplate why this was, until the back leg of her chair snapped and she was sent toppling to the ground in a thundering crash. The whole class turned to stare at her as Amy hurried over to help her up and Lita began laughing uncontrollably. Ms. Haruna twisted around just in time to see her fall.

"MS. TSUKINO!"

"…and then she fell backwards off her chair and the whole class was staring and- I can't even-"

Lita continued to erupt into fits of laughter as the others listened and giggled along with her. That is, except, for Serena. She sat in the corner of the leather booth, lips set in a firm pout, glimacing at the memory of her humiliating fall. Ms. Haruna had really let her have it after that, and she had just barely gotten out of the room without a detention. Luckily, her teacher had "business" to attend to after school, and she didn't have time to supervise Serena, so at least today luck was on her side. Well, mostly.

Raye eyed here smugly and casually spoke up.

"Oh, cheer up Serena, you've never been known as particularly _graceful_."

She and Lita began roaring with laughter again, and when it finally subsided Mina patted here on the back. The blonde beauty smiled at her and attempted to be comforting.

"Maybe a milkshake will make you feel better, hm? Or perhaps a hamburger?"

Serena's eyes glinted.

"Both."

Mina winked and then wiggled out of the booth.

"You got it! Lita, can you give me a hand?"

Wiping away a stray tear, Lita also stood and followed behind Mina.

"Sure! Oh, I wonder if that cute waiter will be working today? He is so dreamy…"

Amy shuffled over to Serena and gave her a sweet smile.

"It really wasn't that bad. I'm sure nobody even remembers it now. The girls are just teasing you."

Serena sighed and shook her head.

"I know, but it got me a free hamburger, so why should I complain?"

She started smiling again and Amy felt instantly better. When Mina and Lita returned with Serena's food, the five girls began talking and were soon engaged in a rowdy, laughter-filled conversation. When everyone had settled down and were all picking at the scraps of their meals, Serena noticed Lita watching the blonde behind the arcade counter, eyeing him hungrily. She couldn't help but laugh. Lita swiveled her head around to face Serena and cocked an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?"

"You, making eyes at that cute waiter over there." She imitated a wide-eyed look of admiration and fluttered her eyelashes at Lita. She blushed.

"What's wrong with an innocent crush? It's not like she's going to marry the guy!" Raye proclaimed, breaking the silence.

"Oh c'mon, Raye! Don't you ever want to fall in love?" Mina asked casually, sipping at her iced tea.

Raye scoffed. "Love? I don't need some man in my life to be happy! Love is overrated."

"I don't know, I think it might be nice to have someone in my life, that I can trust and have fun with and lean on in hard times." Lita's eyes glazed over as she imagined her dream man. "Amy, can't you back me up?"

Amy looked up from the pages of her book.

"I don't know, I think I agree with Raye. You don't need a man in your life to be happy. And you know that if you ever need something, we're here for you!"

Mina grinned playfully,

"Well, there _are_ some things that we can't provide for her, right Amy?"

Amy blushed deeply and buried her face back in her book.

"What about you, Serena?" All the girls turned towards her.

She stared up at the ceiling and thought for a second.

"I think that being in love would be nice, but in reality, it's kind of unlikely. I wouldn't pass up the chance for true love, but I'm also not gonna wait around for my prince charming to come sweep me off my feet."

Lita punched her playfully.

"Look who's going all deep and articulate on us! What have you done with the real Serena?"

"Maybe she just needs some sugar. What do you say we get some ice-cream?"

Serena turned to Mina excitedly, eyes wide.

"Ice-cream?"

After saying their goodbyes to Raye and Mina, Serena, Lita and Amy wandered their way home, chatting and laughing. Soon Serena was walking alone, the surprisingly quiet roads shrouded in the pinky-golden haze of the setting sun. The joy of the past afternoon was quickly wearing off, replaced only by a heavy sense of dread. Serena walked slowly, trying to postpone the inevitable. She would have to face her father at some point. Turning onto her street, she braced herself for whichever version of him she would have to deal with tonight. She hated him, and how miserable he made her life. If only her mother had known how this whole situation would turn out. The air caught in her throat at the thought of her mother, stopping Serena in her tracks.

"You will not cry, Serena Tsukino." She whispered to herself, eyes already watering. It had been too long and dwelling on the event wouldn't do her any good.

Approaching her front door, something strange stirred within Serena. Some odd sensation that she hadn't felt before, making her feel both frightened and excited. Unlocking the door, her hand gripped the knob and slowly turned it. Creaking open, light burst through the open doorway and flooded her vision.

Something told Serena that tonight would be a long night.

Sorry that this was a bit of a nothing chapter! I'm just trying to set up the situation and introduce Serena as a character. I promise that the next chapter will be more eventful! Please keep the reviews coming!


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